The double-edged sword effect of workplace upward comparisons on employees’ behaviors: exploring the role of perceived overall justice

Upward comparisons, a psychological process in which individuals compare themselves to perceived superiors, have gained prominence in the workplace. Nevertheless, their impact on employees’ sequent behaviors has yielded inconsistent results. To address these discrepancies, this study draws upon social comparison theory to investigate the conditions under which workplace upward comparisons exert a double-edged sword effect on employees’ subsequent behavior. Through a multi-wave, multi-source survey involving 282 employees and 65 leaders from 65 teams, our findings reveal that when employees perceive overall justice as high, workplace upward comparisons tend to evoke benign envy, leading to constructive self-improvement behaviors. However, when employees perceive overall justice as low, workplace upward comparisons are more likely to trigger malicious envy, resulting in instigated incivility. Our study advances a thorough understanding of when and how workplace upward comparisons may lead to disparate behavioral responses by eliciting two distinct forms of envy. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.